Black Knight – delinquencies drop to 12-month low

National delinquencies fell in March to a 12-month low, but despite that, the recent hurricanes continue to have a negative effect on foreclosures, according to the latest report from Black Knight. The national delinquency rate improved 13.24% in March due to seasonal effects and continued hurricane-related improvements, according to the report. Annually, the delinquency rate increased by 3.09%. Serious delinquencies, delinquencies that are 90 days or more past due but not in foreclosure, fell by 65,000 to 632,000 March. But this is up by 43,000 serious delinquencies from last year. This monthly decrease was due, in part, from the decrease of 19,500 serious delinquencies attributable to hurricanes Harvey and Irma. However, this may not reflect that hurricane areas are getting better, in fact, it could mean they’re getting worse. Foreclosure starts increased by 12% in March, of which more than two-thirds came from hurricane-affected areas of Texas and Florida. But overall, the active foreclosure inventory level continues to see improvement. Active foreclosures fell by 10,000 in March to the lowest level since late 2006. Both Florida and Texas fell within the top five states by 90 days or more delinquent percentage. Florida was the top state with 3.34% of its homes with a mortgage being seriously delinquent, followed by Mississippi with 3.03%, Louisiana with 2.23%, Texas with 1.99% and Alabama with 1.97%.

Halliburton revenue jumps 34%

Oilfield services provider Halliburton Co. reported a 34% jump in first-quarter revenue on Monday as rising oil prices prompted North American companies to boost oil and gas production. The company’s revenue from North America jumped nearly 58% to $3.52 billion in the three months ended March 31, while revenue from international operations rose 9%. Total revenue jumped to $5.74 billion from $4.28 billion. Halliburton said it took a charge of $312 million in the quarter as it wrote down investments in Venezuela, which is struggling with political and economic challenges. Adjusting for items, Halliburton posted a profit of 41 cents per share in the latest reported quarter, in line with analysts’ estimates, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Oilfield services companies were impacted by harsh weather conditions in the first quarter. Halliburton warned of 10 cents per share hit to first-quarter earnings in February due to delays in deliveries of sand used in fracking. Net income attributable to Halliburton was $46 million, or 5 cents per share to shareholders, in the three months ended March 31. The company posted a net attributable loss of $32 million, or 4 cents per share to shareholders, in the same quarter a year earlier.

Illinois foreclosures fall, still among highest in country

Illinois had the fourth-highest rate of foreclosure filings in the United States for the first quarter of 2018, according to a new report. For the first quarter of 2018, Illinois had 12,485 housing units with a foreclosure filing. Nationally, foreclosure filings for the first quarter of 2018 increased 4% when compared to the previous quarter but are still down 19% from a year ago, according to ATTOM Data, a multi-sourced property database. Foreclosure filings for the first quarter of 2018 are also 32% below the pre-recession average. Illinois had a 4.7% decrease in foreclosure filings when compared to the previous quarter and a 25.26% decrease in foreclosure filings when compared to the previous year. Nationwide, one in every 706 US housing units had a foreclosure filing in the first quarter of 2018. In Illinois, one in every 425 housing units was in foreclosure. For the month of March, foreclosure filings were up 21% from an all-time low in February but still down 11% when compared to a year ago. In Illinois, foreclosure filings for March were up 40.95% when compared to February but down 14.87% when compared to the previous year. In the first quarter of 2018, lenders started the foreclosure process on 92,703 properties in the country and a total of 189,870 properties had a foreclosure filing. Here’s how many foreclosure filings Illinois counties had in the first quarter of 2018:

Cook – 6,088

De Kalb – 113

DuPage – 704

Grundy – 25

Kane – 464

Kendall – 172

Lake – 700

McHenry – 414

Will – 909

Illinois had a year-over-year decrease in repossessions of 41%. Nationally, repossessions were down 2% compared to the previous quarter and down 28% when compared to a year ago. Along with Illinois, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and South Carolina had the highest foreclosure rates for the first quarter of 2018. South Dakota, North Dakota, West Virginia, Montana and Vermont had the lowest rates of foreclosure filings in the US for the first quarter of 2018, according to the report. “Less than half of all active foreclosures are now tied to loans originated during the last housing bubble, one of several data milestones in this report showing that the US housing market has mostly cleared out the backlog of bad loans that triggered the housing and financial crisis nearly a decade ago,” Daren Blomquist, senior vice president at ATTOM Data Solutions, said in a press release.

Oil dips as rising US yields steer bulls

Oil prices were little changed at around $74 a barrel on Monday on rising US borrowing costs and the prospect of further output rises after another increase in the weekly rig count, although the overall picture for crude remained bullish. Brent crude futures were down 1 cent at $74.05 a barrel by 1145 GMT, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 11 cents at $68.29 a barrel. Prices were supported by nervousness over the decision President Donald Trump must take by May 12 on whether to restore US economic sanctions on Iran. “Underlying sentiment is bullish … we’ve got an important decision from Trump coming up in May and we have OPEC potentially trying to ‘overtighten’ the market,” Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said. “(Fund managers) need a continuous flow of bullish news for their position to be maintained and this week, it’s not a matter of just watching the oil market.” Broader financial markets were under pressure from the rise in US government yields towards 3%, a level that in the past has triggered aggressive sell-offs in stocks, bonds and commodities. “Whether a break above 3% will have an impact on currencies remains to be seen, but to have an overall rising cost of finance at a time when Saudi Arabia is aiming at $100, something is going to give. Last time we were at $100, interest rates were rock-bottom and that wasn’t a concern to anyone. This time around, it’s a different story,” Hansen said. Despite slipping on Monday, the oil market remains well supported, especially by strong demand in Asia.